A wiper blade for use in wiping a windshield of a motor vehicle has a wiper strip. The wiper strip is worn due to contact with the surface of a windshield. When the service life of a wiper strip comes to an end, the wiper blade is replaced with a new one. New wiper blades may be purchased at car accessory shops. Typically, wiper blades are displayed in the car accessory shops as contained in packages.
The package for receiving a wiper blade must be designed so as to appropriately receive a long wiper blade. Further, the package must be designed such that the wiper strip of a wiper blade and parts for securing the wiper strip is protected during handling or transportation. International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2008/036964 discloses a package for receiving a flat wiper blade.
When a consumer purchases a wiper blade, the consumer takes a wiper blade out of the package and then inspects the wiper blade and its wiper strip. Then, after inspection, the consumer puts the wiper blade into the package again. If the mouth portion of the package cannot be easily opened or closed, it could be troublesome or inconvenient for the consumer when the wiper blade is taken out and put back into the package. Further, the package must be structurally rigid in order to protect the wiper blade received therein and the parts of the wiper blade. When the package falls to the ground, the wiper blade received therein can come out of the package, and when many packages are piled together within a box, the package can become compressed. This may cause damage of the wiper blade received in the package.
However, conventional wiper blade packages have limits regarding easy opening of the mouth portion of the package through simple manipulation. Further, conventional wiper blade packages are unsatisfactory in terms of structural rigidity.